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Psalm 128

1  Blessed are all those who fear the Lord, ♦︎
   and walk in his ways.
2  You shall eat the fruit of the toil of your hands; ♦︎
   it shall go well with you, and happy shall you be.
3  Your wife within your house
      shall be like a fruitful vine; ♦︎
   your children round your table,
      like fresh olive branches.
4  Thus shall the one be blest ♦︎
   who fears the Lord.
5  The Lord from out of Zion bless you, ♦︎
   that you may see Jerusalem in prosperity
      all the days of your life.
6  May you see your children’s children, ♦︎
   and may there be peace upon Israel.

Blessings for Obedience

28If you will only obey the Lord your God, by diligently observing all his commandments that I am commanding you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth; ²all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the Lord your God:

3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field.

4 Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your ground, and the fruit of your livestock, both the increase of your cattle and the issue of your flock.

5 Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading-bowl.

6 Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

7 The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you; they shall come out against you one way, and flee before you seven ways. ⁸The Lord will command the blessing upon you in your barns, and in all that you undertake; he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. ⁹The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. ¹⁰All the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. ¹¹The Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your womb, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your ground in the land that the Lord swore to your ancestors to give you. ¹²The Lord will open for you his rich storehouse, the heavens, to give the rain of your land in its season and to bless all your undertakings. You will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow. ¹³The Lord will make you the head, and not the tail; you shall be only at the top, and not at the bottom—if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I am commanding you today, by diligently observing them, ¹⁴and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I am commanding you today, either to the right or to the left, following other gods to serve them.

Suffering as a Christian

12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³But rejoice in so far as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. ¹⁴If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory,^* which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you.^{* 15}But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, a criminal, or even as a mischief-maker. ¹⁶Yet if any of you suffers as a Christian, do not consider it a disgrace, but glorify God because you bear this name. ¹⁷For the time has come for judgement to begin with the household of God; if it begins with us, what will be the end for those who do not obey the gospel of God? ¹⁸And
‘If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,
   what will become of the ungodly and the sinners?’
¹⁹Therefore, let those suffering in accordance with God’s will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator, while continuing to do good.